


making a mark (here together)

by IHaveNothingToDo



Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Finding a place to live together is a STRUGGLE okay, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Moving In Together, Multi, Poly Renegades, Polyamory, THEYRE SILLY AND IN LOVE, and this apartment popped in my brain, house design things, i was playing around on one of those, so i HAD to write for something for it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IHaveNothingToDo/pseuds/IHaveNothingToDo
Summary: At first, finding an apartment to accommodate all five of them had been a hassle. The ones close to Nova’s shop were too far away from Ruby’s family house. The new ones near Danna and Oscar’s old place were too far from downtown. Adrien had said he’d be okay being that far away from everything he’s ever known, but everyone else knew that was a load of bull.It had taken two bottles of wine, copious amounts of pasta with Simon Westwood's famous sauce, and several prying questions before Adrien admitted that finding a place for all of them was more difficult then he’d originally anticipated. Nova, the last one left sober, had kicked him in the shin and swore up and down to his parents that they were making progress, that this was just a temporary situation. They’d be out of the Everheart's basements in no time.It was futile. One look between Hugh Everheart and Simon Westwood sealed their fates.
Relationships: Nova Artino/Danna Bell/Adrian Everhart/Oscar Silva/Ruby Tucker
Comments: 12
Kudos: 12





	making a mark (here together)

At first, finding an apartment to accommodate all five of them had been a hassle. The ones close to Nova’s shop were too far away from Ruby’s family house. The new ones near Danna and Oscar’s old place were too far from downtown. Adrien had said he’d be okay being that far away from everything he’s ever known, but everyone else knew that was a load of bull. 

It had taken two bottles of wine, copious amounts of pasta with Simon Westwoods famous sauce, and several prying questions before Adrien admitted that finding a place for all of them was more difficult then he’d originally anticipated. Nova, the last one left sober, had kicked him in the shin and swore up and down to his parents that they were making progress, that this was just a temporary situation. They’d be out of the Everheart’s basements in no time. 

It was futile. One look between Hugh Everheart and Simon Westwood sealed their fates. 

* * *

Nova hated the place, it was the penthouse suite of the latest and greatest apartment complex. It was closer to Ruby’s family then Nova’s work, but still within comfortable biking range. It was several streets over from Danna and Oscar’s place, putting it again, within perfect biking distance to downtown. 

“We don't need a penthouse.” Nova had stressed.

Hugh had waved off her gritted teeth, “There are five of you! Plus we own this building so you can just come over for dinner on Sunday’s and we’ll call it your rent!” 

It had taken Adrien, Ruby,  _ and  _ Oscar’s combined puppy dog eyes for her to relent. They officially moved in the next week and Nova hated the place even more, once she was inside. 

Everything was perfectly set up, you stepped off the elevator right into the space. The kitchen to your right, a powder room to your left. The kitchen flowed beautifully into the living room, with a breakfast bar area alongside one edge of the massive island, blending the two areas together. The biggest bed they made, an Alaskan King, was proudly raised on loft above a built in bookcase with two desks overlooking a view of the city. The bathroom was big enough to hold  _ at least _ 18 people, with a soaker tub that made Oscar yell in delight. 

Danna had leaned over, looping an arm around Nova’s waist and murmured, “It’s too white.” 

“YES!” Nova yelled, anger boiling over. “It feels like it’s throwing everything I am back at me, all those years couch surfing, and living in the projects! This is all white with big windows, white curtains, a white couch that is never going to survive past our first movie night!” Arms thrown wide Nova had smacked into Ruby, who reeled her in for a hug. 

“It is really white,” Oscar mumbled, thinking of his and Danna’s shared apartment, the dirty outdated bathrooms, the rundown kitchen, and a couch with too many stains. 

“I’ll talk to my dads, tell them we decided it just won't work.” 

“No, no. Don’t do that,” Nova pulled herself up, sniffling. “I’ll get over it, I’m just tired. The rain water system for Harper is killing me and I’m just-” Nova smiled, “I’m just gonna go work on it for a bit, you guys good to unpack without me?” 

Everyone had agreed and as soon and elevator shut, collectively decided to fuck the place up. 

Adrien had borrowed his dad’s car, loaded Ruby into the back of it, and headed for the nearest paint supplier. 

Oscar and Danna let the movers haul the rest of their stuff up, before unboxing the biggest box. “At least this will fill in those bookshelves, I’m starting to think that elephant is looking at me.” 

So the white ceramic elephant came down, as did the rest of the smaller staging pieces. The bookcase was filled, mugs were pilled into the cabinets, and Oscar struggled up the ladder to the bed to add their pillows. 

It was still white, but less glaringly so. Danna had made a quick dinner that was ready when Adrien and Ruby got home, arms loaded down with cans of paint, and a fresh set of brushes. 

Nova came home late, late enough that the night was dark enough to mask the whiteness of the new penthouse. She’d changed out of her work clothes without a shower, pulled on the first clean outfit out of a box, and slept on the glossy gray stone floor. 

Oscar had woken her, dropping his cane with a clatter coming down the loft’s ladder. “Sorry,” he whispered, face pinched in pain. Nova had helped him down the rest of the way, and eased him onto the couch. 

“That’s not gonna work.” It’s a statement, no room for arguing under Nova’s critical gaze. 

“Ladders suck.” 

“What sucks less?” 

Hands massaging his legs Oscar had shrugged, “I can do stairs pretty easy these days. Ramps are weird and everything else I walk on is flat. Why, what are you thinking?” 

“Something to make this place suck less ass.” 

It had taken a phone call, to confirm that they were allowed to modify the apartment, 12 billion apologies to Oscar, and far too much time spent on Pinterest, for Nova to draft up a messy blueprint. 

It would be stairs, anchored to the wall that the loft shares with the bathroom, wide enough for Oscar and his cane and maybe a third person too. Nova used the reclaimed cherry wood from her shop, discovered their building had a much bigger maintenance elevator, and assembled the entire thing in one weekend. As in typical Nova style, she hated it. 

“The supports make it look like a half assed bookcase, I’ve covered half that weird pocket wall closet, and the wood doesn't match the floors.” 

“And I can get in and out of bed without fearing for my  _ life _ ,” Oscar argued, “It’s perfect Nova, stop worrying over it.” 

Nova didn't stop worrying about it. Making the stairs had helped Oscar, but now Danna and Ruby’s half of the closet was blocked, making it a hassle to get dressed in the mornings. Adrien has sacrificed his part and decided to leave his clothes in the moving box. It was a step  _ down _ from living out of a laundry basket and Nova wouldn't have it. 

“Ruby? I need color and clothing advice.” 

“What’s up!” 

“You hang most of your clothes up right?” 

“Yeah, why?” 

Nova handed her a pad of paper, the rough blueprint of a tall... deep... drawer? 

“What am I looking at here?” 

“I installed Honey’s water system today and while she was talking instead of paying me, I noticed she had these closets under her stairs. They’re essentially a really tall, really deep drawer, but instead of shelves or whatever I'm gonna stick a hanging rod in it. So you can keep your shoes on the bottom tray of the thing, with your hanging stuff on it. I can use the supports from the stairs as the walls, for most of it. Maybe pull that bookcase out around the corner so it looks like it came with the place. We can paint it to match- here hand me that back babe.” 

Ruby let the pad go with a laugh, kissing Nova’s cheek, “I only understood about half of that but if you can miracle up more closet space,  _ and  _ keep the stairs? I’ll make you my mom’s white chocolate mint chip cookies.” 

Incentive provided, it only took Nova another week to assemble the closet cabinets, as Danna had dubbed them. They were yet another type of wood on the bottom, but she’d had enough of the cherry for the back and front. With new hardware, and several mutterings about shelving, Nova deemed the cabinets good enough. 

* * *

When Adrien’s allergies flared up bad enough for him to stay home (under threat of death from Ruby) he couldn't keep his eyes off the blank canvas of the cabinets. 

“You’re zoning out,” Danna said, leaned back in her chair at the desk. 

“What do you want in here?” 

“What?” 

Adrien smiled, “It seems like everyone is adding something in her, Oscar’s stairs, Ruby’s closet, Nova’s handy work. What would you add?” 

“I miss my garden, from Oz and I’s old place. I know the community gardens here are great and all, and I love it here don't get me wrong, I just. I miss my butterflies. I had a whole bunch of milk weed growing under the window, and I miss being able to roll over and see them in the mornings.” 

“I have an idea.” 

“Don't you always?” 

The two of them had spent the rest of the day priming the cabinets to receive Adrien’s imagination, straight from the tap, and getting more of the primer on each other then on the wood. 

It was dry enough to walk on by the time everyone else got home, and other then raised eyebrows and giggles, no one commented on their productive day. 

The next morning Danna left to get groceries, leaving Adrien unattended in front of a blank canvas, with gallons of paint, and a dropcloth at his feet. Technically the ensuing landscape that started growing from their walls was her fault. 

Adrien refused to even  _ hint  _ about what the faint charcoal marks would one day become, or even elaborate on the lush greenery he’d started painting when Oscar and Ruby got in. 

Several weeks went by, with Adrien and Nova working side by side and Danna grumbling about distracting her from work in the background. Nova did ‘pull’ the book shelf around Adriens desks towards the closets, adding a smooth white oak to make a perfect corner at every shelf. L braces secured the thing to the cabinet closets, and a quick swipe of stain, erased any indications that any work had been done. Making the whole area seem as if it were intentionally designed that way. 

Adrien painted flowers, obviously leaving room for something else but refused to give anything away, no matter how many kisses Oscar plied him with. He worked well into the night, several work lamps dragged up from Nova’s workshop to aid him. 

“I hate those lights,” Ruby muttered into Nova’s shoulder, “Makes it too bright to sleep.” 

A chronic problem solver, Nova had draped a corner of a blanket over the top half of Ruby’s face, rolled on to her back and stared at where the light from downstairs hit the ceiling.

The next morning Nova found Adrien asleep in the middle of his drop cloth, paint in his hair. Careful to step over the odd drips of color and creativity, Nova had eased his glasses off his face, picked her way to the kitchen, and slammed straight into Hugh Everheart. 

“Why are you in my kitchen?” 

“You all missed Sunday dinner. Is that a staircase? This place didn’t come with stairs, did it?” 

“Get out of my kitchen, you’re going to wake them up.” 

Hugh had walked Nova down to the nearest cafe, pestering her with questions the whole way. After ordering the largest cup of coffee the place served, Nova had explained that the place was too white, too impersonal and that she’d been making modifications to it ever since that very first phone call. 

“You guys are still renovating your place right? What happened to those big glass panels from the bathrooms?” 

“The textured ones from the showers? I think they’re still in the house somewhere, why?” 

Sufficiently caffeinated and vibrating slightly, Nova has launched into explaining her idea for a set of sliding doors to partition off the loft. “It’ll make it so someone can sleep up there without the light or noise from everyone else downstairs bugging them. You said I could have those panels right? Let’s go back and grab them, I need to measure them before I pick up the slides.” 

Blinking, Hugh paid for their coffee, hailed a cab back to the house, and helped Nova load the glass panels into the back of their truck. Simon smiled as she drove away, kissing his husband on the cheek, “I can wait to see what they end up doing to that place.” 

They ended up laughing at Nova when she got home from the hardware store. “Do you not like, have anything else to do?” Oscar laughed, watching Nova and Ruby haul in the last panel, now framed in wood, and stained to match the desks. 

“It’s been slow at the shop okay? I like to be busy.” 

Adrien had laughed from his place by the stairs, “you like to spoil us is what you like to do.”

“Says the guy half covered in orange paint!” 

They’d all laughed, falling together for a quick lunch break that they spent kissing more then eating. 

By the time Dana had to drag herself back to the computer for work,(not everyone is having a slow week, you know) Nova was sitting on Adrien’s shoulders, dril whirring away at the glides for the ceiling. 

“What is the point of the glass again?” 

“It’ll help block the light and noise from downstairs so people can sleep up here without having a spotlight in their face.” 

Ruby beamed, “I love you!” They all echoed it back. 

“Okay Adrien that’s the last one, set me down.” 

Tilting back on his heels Adrien collapsed, Nova shrieking above him, onto the bed, dumping her Right into Oscar’s lap. The rest of the afternoon was lost to a tickle fight that ended with Dana, Ruby, Adrien, and Oscar ganging up on Nova till she was laughing too hard to even think about the lower gliders and all the work she still had to do. 

**Author's Note:**

> Should I continue this? I have like. Another 4k floating around in my head about these five and their penthouse lmao, but i really wanted to just yeet this into existence and see what yall thought!


End file.
